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Could 'Fire Paste' Replace Shuttle Tiles?

Posted by timothy on from the from-the-makers-of-bear-suit dept.

pipingguy writes "Troy Hurtubise, of bear suit fame, claims to have invented a physics-defying substance called fire paste. "I could coat the belly of the NASA space shuttle with fire paste for $25,000 (US), instead of the $60 million it costs for them to put tiles on it," Hurtubise said. "It can stand up to the heat of re-entry to the earth's atmosphere, and then they can simply wash it off.""

3 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. Missing the point by Oddly_Drac · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "I could coat the belly of the NASA space shuttle with fire paste for $25,000 (US), instead of the $60 million it costs for them to put tiles on it," Hurtubise said. "It can stand up to the heat of re-entry to the earth's atmosphere, and then they can simply wash it off.""

    First of all, it's not simply a matter of applying a 'big blowtorch' to the underside of the shuttle. There's a lot of laminar flow that accompanies the heat and for something that can be 'washed' off, I'd be interested in both viscosity and lateral movement.

    The other aspect is that plasma entered the interior of the port wing; it's not about the heat shielding failing so much as it was about having a bloody great hole in the leading edge. I'd be surprised if the paste could bridge that.

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    Oddly Draconis
    Too cynical to live, too stubborn to die.
  2. It's not as if by Jammer@CMH · · Score: 2, Interesting
    ceramic tiles are made of expensive raw materials, either. The process of manufacturing and installation is expensive, however. How much would his tiles save?

    (I know he calls it a paste. but if you look at the pictures the material he tests is has been cured into tiles.)

    1. Re:It's not as if by kevin+lyda · · Score: 2, Interesting

      i haven't read the article but how does this fire paste compare to the current tiles in terms of weight?

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